Quote Originally Posted by Hiroshi66
Maciamo, do you believe that both flags should be banned, including the Hinomaru? Because Japan is entitled to its own national flag as a nation. The Hinomaru is this.
No, I don't think the hinomaru should be banned. You will notice though that Germany changed flag after WWI, in 1935 the again in 1945 (and slightly in 1990 for the reunification) to show the rupture with the previous government. Russia changed flag at the Red Revolution of 1917, then again when it lost its communist empire in 1991. Again that shows the rupture with the previous regime. Recently, Iraq and Afghanistan changed their flags after the US invasion to show the clear change of regime too.

Japan was allowed to keep the hinomaru along with the emperor because the US wanted to stress the continuity with the established regime. But the hinomaru did not become officially the national flag until 1999 ! (before it was used, but unofficially). I am not sure why Japan was allowed to make the hinomaru official, and at the same time rehabilitated Kimigayo as national anthem with complaint from the US, but I think it also coincide with the US's new strategy to push Japan to change its constitution, get an army, join the UN Security Council, teach patriotism at school (including singing Kimigayo), etc.

As for this flag, it is not a national flag, but the naval ensign. Most countries have two flags - one is the national flag and the other is either the naval ensign or the land ensign..
Yes, and both are offically recognised, both at a national and international level.

naval ensigns are usually based on the national flags but done differently.
Yes, most countries have s different naval flag. The Uk had dozens of naval flags actually. Other countries keep their national flag for the navy (e.g. the USA, France, Germany...). Some flag are only slightly different (Australia and NZ inverted the blue and white), but some have a completely different flag (e.g. Netherlands, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Korea...). You can check all of them on this great website.

I think Japan is entitled to this right as a civilized nation, just like China, Malaysia, America, and Britain, etc. Some countries which have waged agressive wars continue to retain their flags too. I won't discuss the People's Republic of China in this thread so I don't get attacked again, but Indonesia (for instance) had waged agressive and illegal war against East Timor and none of their ensigns were changed.
It is not only about waging war, but changing the government and the image of the country. The question is, does Japan want to be seen as the exact same country as during WWII, or a new, democratised and more peaceful country. It's a bit late to think about that as it's already 60 years the war is over. But Japan (or the US) have opted for the continuity, and with regard to the recent rise in anti-Japanese sentiment in East Asia, I was wondering if it was not better to finally break up clearly with the past and look toward the future. It is easy to create a new flag and a new image for the country.